Breaking the cycle of offending

Breaking the cycle of offending



"There must be consequences for breaking the law".

We have seen a handful of the 650 expenses fiddling MPs being prosecuted and jailed. Too few are facing the consequences for breaking the law, and too many are escaping the consequences for breaking the law. This does not inspire public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Recently the 1922 Committee called upon David Cameron to curb the power of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), to allow MPs to carry on fiddling their expenses out of the public purse unchecked. MPs have proved that they cannot be trusted not to steal. It is hypocritical to call for breaking the cycle of offending of members of the public, whilst at the same time MPs are wanting to continue their cycle of offending.

Then we have the UK's cycle of offending breaching the European Convention on Human Rights, and ignoring the European Court of Human Rights decision in Hirst v UK (No2). As the MoJ points out "There must be consequences for breaking the law", so how the UK can expect not to face consequences on 8 March when the UK goes before the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg is beyond me. It is as though the Coalition is saying that there is one law for the masses and another for the government. In effect, that the government is above the common law.

It is time that we broke the cycle of offending by the government.